1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the lasting of shoes and more particularly to providing continuity in wiping a shoe upper along its side and heel and improved side wiping therewith.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Previous approaches to lasting shoe uppers have included machines with lasting rolls, or machines with articulating fingers. One such machine for lasting a shoe is that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,264,666 wherein a resilient band engages the upper and shoe bottom margin and wraps a portion of the upper heightwise over the margin of the last bottom. Another machine for lasting a shoe is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,561,028 wherein a plurality of wipers are adjustably secured together to form a variably curved surface permitting conformance generally to a section of the heightwise curvature of the last bottom. Still other U.S. Pats. such as Nos. 3,562,828 and 3,727,257 disclose machines for automatically gripping the shoe uppers and tensioning them about the insoles. None of the above cited patents directs itself to providing a continuity of side and heel wiping in a single operation while yielding a quality shoe.
It has been found desirable, therefore, to improve shoe lasting by providing a machine which may wipe the upper margin with wipers that are in general conformity to the contours of the shoe bottom and sides of the shoe being assembled and to simultaneously wipe the heel end wherein continuity is provided by the wiping mechanisms around the margin of the shoe from one side of the ball zone around the heel to the other side of the ball zone. These are improvements over the prior art to which the present invention is directed.